I've also bought houses where I didn't need the 25% down, as with the few sub2 deals I bought, but these had different costs such as a marketing budget, and most every one needed significant repairs and upgrades. 

Don't ask me where all the money was going, because I don't know - I didn't budget back then.  

I know the money directly adds to my local economy, feeds construction workers, even Realtors, pays the bills and provides a living for others, from the dentist to the driver of the garbage truck.

When I look at potential expenses for a new property, I budget 200/month for insurance, and if it's less then that's just gravy.

Our combined income is mediocre to say the least (85k/year, soon to be 95 - 100k) and have one car payment (300/m) and some cc debt (10k).We felt that we had a a unique situation on our hands because of the equity we have on our home, so we decided to do some researching in Real Estate investing and came to the conclusion of doing a HELOC and investing in SFH in Lancaster or Palmdale, CA.Chase, our lender only approved us for 40k with the condition to pay off our debt and car loan which only leaves us with around 6k.We are thinking about Lancaster and Palmdale because there are some properties that will fits our budget and fall within the 1 - 2% rule.Any advice?

One way we stretch our existing budgets is to get attic exemptions. 

I've been budgeting 20% down, 5% for closing costs.  

The eventual rehab went way over budget and took a lot longer than I planned.  

I stay within budget for standard building, but can feel good about what I'm doing.

I am on a limited budget but have the basics.